ERIC ED447648: Gifted Education/School-to-Work Models: Best Practices and Unique Approaches. College of William & Mary Center for Gifted Education.

215 Pages·1998·4.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EC 308 137
ED 447 648
Gifted Education/School-to-Work Models: Best Practices and
TITLE
Unique Approaches. College of William & Mary Center for
Gifted Education.
National School-to-Work Opportunities Office, Washington,
INSTITUTION
DC.
Department of Education, Washington, DC.; Department of
SPONS AGENCY
Labor, Washington, DC.
1998-00-00
PUB DATE
218p.; For related gifted education/school-to-work
NOTE
documents, see' EC 308 120, EC 308 132-142. Accompanying
videotape not available from ERIC.
Descriptive
Reports
Collected Works - General (020)
PUB TYPE
(141)
MF01/PC09 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Academically Gifted; Career Education; *Career Exploration;
DESCRIPTORS
*College School Cooperation; *Education Work Relationship;
*Educational Planning; Elementary School Students;
Intermediate Grades; Mentors; Parent Education; Program
Design; Secondary Education
Virginia
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
The National School-to-Work Office in collaboration with the
National Association for Gifted Children, the Council for Exceptional
Children, the Association for the Gifted, and the Council of State Directors
of Programs for the Gifted have identified 11 gifted education/school-to-work
(GT/STW) models that are either best practices or unique approaches. This
information packet provides an overview of one of the uniquerapproaches
models: "Focusing on the Future: A Career and Academic Learning Experience
for Gifted Students in Grades 6-12 and Their Parents." Developed by the
Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, this program
offers all-day career and academic planning activities to secondary gifted
students. The students are given opportunities to interact with professionals
in varied fields and parents are informed about career-oriented academic
planning. Student career workshops in the humanities and social sciences,
art, mathematics, science, and technology are led by college faculty or
professionals. Parent sessions include topics such as developing children's
critical thinking skills, encouraging girls in math and science, and the
social and emotional needs of gifted students. The information packet
includes a program overview, agendas for the different sessions, session
materials, registration forms, a videotape, and relevant articles.
(CR)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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Gifted Education/School-to-Work Models: Best Practices and
Unique Approaches. College of William & Mary Center for Gifted
Education.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
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Minor changes have been made to
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
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Gifted Education/School-to-Work Models:
Best Practices and Unique Approaches
The National School-to-Work Office has been collaborating with the National Association for
Gifted Children, The Council for Exceptional Children, The Association for the Gifted, and the
Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted on a national effort to identify exemplary
Gifted Education/School-to-Work (STW) models. Our purpose has been to forge new
relationships between the STW and gifted education communities around common and critical
goals: teaching rigorous and relevant academic skills, identifying and developing talent, and
guiding career development. We believe sharing these practices will expand learning
opportunities for all learners by building an even richer and more inclusive STW system, and by
"raising the bar" on learning and teaching for all students.
We use the term "gifted and talented," which is broader than "academically talented" (used in the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act), because state definitions of giftedness mostly use some
variation of the current federal definition, which is (1988 Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented
Students Education Act):
Children and youth who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as
intellectual, creative, artistic or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and
who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully
develop such capabilities.
Last year, letters were sent to state-level STW and gifted education directors and association
leaders to help identify gifted education models that also exemplify STW. Submissions were
also requested on all gifted education Listservs. We received 23 competitive submissions.
A technical review process was used to ensure that all submissions were thoroughly and
impartially evaluated. An outside review panel was assembled which comprised experts in
gifted education and STW. Their experience included state gifted education and STW
leadership, local STW program evaluation, and post-secondary gifted education research. All
submissions were evaluated according to criteria consistent with guidelines made available to all
applicants.
Five Best Practices and six Unique Approaches were selected by the panel. The designation
"Best Gifted Education/STW Practice" signifies excellent progress in implementing a
comprehensive STW system that challenges high achieving/gifted and talented students. The
designation "Unique Gifted Education/STW Approach" recognizes a unique program element.
Unique Approaches did not present all key components of a comprehensive STW system
(school-based, work-based, and connecting activities), or provide sufficient information about
how gifted and talented students are served.
Programs evaluated as very strong:
specifically serve gifted and talented students;
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demonstrate a school-based learning component that supports and builds on a work-
based learning component, and provide students with high level academic and technical skills
and opportunities for career exploration and guidance;
demonstrate a work-based learning component connected to academic classroom
learning, and prepare students for the diverse skills needed in today's high-performance
workplaces;
present connecting activities that build and maintain linkages between students,
educators, the workplace, parents, and others in the community;
provide evidence about effectiveness. including indicators that it could be replicated in
diverse settings throughout the country; and
address identified priorities such as strategies to: improve math and science
achievement, serve gifted students in rural and urban areas, enhance middle school achievement,
and promote linkages with institutions of higher learning.
A brief description of one of the 6 Unique Approaches follows:
FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE: A CAREER AND ACADEMIC PLANNING EXPERIENCE FOR GIFTED
STUDENTS IN GRADES 6-12 AND THEIR PARENTS (VIRGINIA): Unique Approaches: Parent
Involvement and Program Evaluation. Developed by the Center for Gifted Education at
Virginia's College of William and Mary, these all-day career and academic planning activities
offer middle and high-school gifted students opportunities to interact with professionals in varied
fields, and inform parents about career-oriented academic planning for their children. Student
career workshops in the humanities and social sciences, arts, mathematics, science, and
technology are led by college faculty or professionals from such institutions as Colonial
Williamsburg, the Medical College of Virginia, NASA, Richmond Ballet, and National Public
Radio. Parent sessions include topics such as developing children's critical thinking skills,
encouraging girls in math and science, and the social and emotional needs of gifted students.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Jody & Layton Smith Professor in Education, Director, Center for
Gifted Education, College of William & Mary, P. 0. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187, (757)
221-2362,
cfge@facstaff. wm.edu, website: www.wm.edu/education/gifted.html.
Ms. Lisa Schenkel, Coordinator of Special Projects, [phone].
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1:111)/ragi3Axm & MARY
Lisa A. Schenkel
Education
Center for Gifted
P.O. Box 8795
231874795
Williamsburg, VA
.
.
[phone]
(757) 221-114-10 FAX
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Of
TheC:011ege
WILLIAM & MARY
Center for Gifted Education
[phone]
P.O. Box 8795, 232 Jamestown Road
(757) 221 -2184
FAX:
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795
April 30, 1998
Dr. Lorraine Kleinwaks
National School-to-Work Office
400 Virginia Avenue, SW
Suite 210
Washington, DC 20024
Dear Dr. Kleinwaks:
We are sure that this is an exciting time in the
We hope that all is going well for you.
proposals for the Gifted Education School-
National School-to-Work Office as you receive
will find the proposal submitted by the Center
to-Work Symposium Project! Enclosed you
and Mary. It was wonderful to have a forum
for Gifted Education at the College of William
accomplished with Focusing on the Future. Please
to inform others about what has been
need additional information.
feel free to contact us if you have questions or
proposal to this worthy endeavor. We look
Thank you for the opportunity to present a
forward to hearing from you in the near future!
Sine rely,
Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed. D.
Director of the Center for Gifted Education
Jody Layton Smith Professor of Education
Valerie H. Moye, Ed. S.
Coordinator of Special Projects
Enclosure
W&M
Proposal for
Center for
Gifted
Education
The Gifted Education
School to Work
Symposium Project
Submitted by:
Center for Gifted. Education
P.O. Box 8795
Virginia 23187-8795
Phone: [phone]Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.nm.edul education/ eled.html
emaik
[email protected]
Center Director:
Joyce VanTassel-Baska
Jody & Layton Smith Professor in Education
Director, Center for Gifted Education
Project Coordinator.
Valerie Moye
- i,
Focusing on the Future Proposal
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Program Vision Goals, and Overview
Guiding Vision
The guiding vision for Focusing on the Future: A Career and Academic Planning
Experience for Gifted Students in Grades 6-12 and Their Parents was one in which the
future finds gifted adults in professions that are meaningful and well-suited to their
aspirations and abilities. The program was based on the premise that knowledge is power
and career possibilities can be inspirational--if one knows of the many, varied ways one can
merge his or her interests and abilities with professional endeavors. However, often
students take career pathways, not because they are inspired by them but because they know
so little about career possibilities and the factors that lead to the attainment and performance
in them. Focusing on the Future: A Career and Academic Planning Experience for Gifted
Students in Grades 6-12 and Their Parents was created with the intent to provide middle
and high-school gifted students with initial experiences that will expand and focus their
horizons. That is, once they become aware of careers that interest them, they can focus on
attaining additional information about particular careers through possible follow-
upmentorships or internships.
Program Goals
The Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary offers an all-
day career and academic planning program for gifted students in grades 6-12 and their
parents. Focusing on the Future: A Career and Academic Planning Experience for Gifted
Students in Grades 6-12 and Their Parents was initiated with three purposes in mind: (1)
to provide opportunities for gifted students to explore possible careers of interest, (2) to
establish opportunities for gifted students to interact with professionals in varied fields, and
(3) to inform parents of considerations and guidelines for academic planning which will
support future career choices.
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Focusing on the Future Proposal
2
Program Overview
Program History and Format
Focusing on the Future: A Career and Academic Planning Experience for Gifted
Students in Grades 6-12 and Their Parents was initiated during the 1997-98 academic
school year and has experienced two successful years of implementation (See evaluation
summaries in Appendices F & G). During the first year, the program was offered on three
different Saturdays. Each of the Saturday programs differed according to three distinct
career foci: (1) the humanities and the social sciences, (2) the arts, and (3) mathematics,
science, and technology (see programs in Appendix C). Each Saturday program featured a
keynote address, concurrent student workshops about various career opportunities in the
featured career strand, concurrent parent workshops about academic planning
considerations, and a panel discussion which pertained to the particular career focus of the
day. All career programs were held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., at the University Center on
the College of William and Mary campus.
The second year of implementation was based upon the success of the first year and
feedback received from presenters and participants. The three Saturday programs with
different career cluster foci were replaced by one Saturday program that offered workshops
in four distinct strands: (1) humanities and the social sciences career workshops, (2) arts
career workshops, (3) mathematics, science, and technology career workshops, and (4)
career and academic planning workshops for parents (See program in Appendix C). In
response to parent and student suggestions from Year 1, we removed the general keynote
address from the program, added a third concurrent workshop session, and arranged for a
tour of the William and Mary campus on a sign-up basis. The arrangement of the program
in this way afforded students the opportunity to attend at least one workshop in each of the
three career focus strands in a single-day program.
Each of the student workshops was lead by either a member of the faculty at the
College of William and Mary or by a practicing professional in the community. During
Focusing on the Future Proposal
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each of the student workshops, presenters were asked to expose students to (1) an activity
that pertained to the concentration area, (2) information about work habits and "habits of
mind that lead to successful careers, (3) information about career opportunities in their
field, and (4) steps that students might take in preparing for careers in their profession.
Parent workshops were facilitated by Center for Gifted Education faculty and staff
members at the College of William and Mary or special experts in aspects of college and
academic planning. Parent workshop presenters were asked to highlight information that
would be particularly helpful to parents in guiding students' career and academic planning
pursuits.
Program evaluations indicate that changes made to the second year program further
enhanced what was initiated during the first year (See program evaluation summary in
Appendix G). Current plans are to continue the second year program format for the third
year of implementation.
Program Announcement and Registration
Students and their parents became aware of the program through several sources.
First, an announcement and registration form was mailed to all gifted program coordinators
in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The coordinators then had the responsibility of
informing gifted middle school and high school students in their school districts of the
career and academic planning opportunity. Information also was sent directly to parents of
middle school and high school students who attend any of several programs offered by the
Center for Gifted Education. Finally, announcements were made in several newspapers
distributed in Virginia.
The registration process allowed students to indicate their first, second, and third
choices among nine possible workshops for each of the three concurrent sessions. Parents
were given three choices for each of the three sessions. First choices were honored most of
the time and second choices were honored if a first choice workshop was filled.
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